The field of the invention pertains to bicycle brakes and, in particular, to brakes which act upon the rims of bicycle wheels.
Such brakes have traditionally been caliper brakes which squeeze the rim between a pair of brake pads. Other traditional bicycle brakes are coaster brakes which are located on the bicycle wheel hub and engage the hub and axle.
Caliper brakes may be side pull, center pull or direct pull, depending on the location of the control cable in the connection to the caliper mechanical parts. Traditionally made of metal except for the brake pads, engineered plastics are now becoming part of the caliper mechanisms. Unfortunately, caliper brakes are prone to misalignment with frequent hard use. When misaligned, the brake pads do not smoothly and evenly engage the wheel rims.
U.S. Publication Document 2003 0168292 discloses a bicycle brake assembly with a wedge shaped end on a brake pad and grooves in the pads. U.S. Pat. No. 6,318,513 discloses an electrically actuated mechanical friction brake that utilizes a significant portion of the vehicle dynamic energy to apply the brake and a mechanism to prevent jamming of the brake. An electronic publication entitled “Flex Wedges” available at www.nasatech.com/Briefs/Octo1/ from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration discloses a flexible wedge configuration that engages a groove to perform a brake or clutch function.